Published online: 18 December 2002 © Springer-Verlag 2002 This aim of this book is to give medical students and residents a knowledge of the morphology and physiol- ogy of the central nervous system. It is set at an intermediate level be- tween that of a specialty monograph and that of a popular science publi- cation. Accordingly, the format of the book features full-page drawings of the anatomy of brain nuclei and pathways obtained from anatomical slices of nine adult brains and one spinal cord. In parallel with these, concise text descriptions of the mor- phological and functional anatomy are provided, with few remarks devoted to correlating the information conveyed with the corresponding clinical aspects. The book, which is in French throughout, focuses on four main themes – the external morphology of the central nervous system, the arte- rial and venous vascularization, the axial and coronal encephalic cuts, and the overall description of the principal nervous pathways – and is subdivided into two main parts. The first, on macroscopic anatomy, in- cludes 92 illustrations of the brain, the brain stem and spinal cord and an introduction to the central nervous system and its embryology, with commentaries on the morphology of the cerebral lobes, the principal areas of the brain, the cerebellar lobes, the spinal cord, the midline and deep nuclei regions of the brain, the vascu- Childs Nerv Syst (2003) 19:264 DOI 10.1007/s00381-002-0698-5 BOOK REVIEW Concezio Di Rocco Claude Maillot: Encéphale et moelle épinière. Anatomie macroscopique et fonctionelle, 2nd edition Springer, Paris, 2002. IX, 297 pp, 118 figures (ISBN 2-287-59743-3) EUR 93.79 C. Di Rocco ( ✉ ) Istituto di Neurochirurgia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo A. Gemelli, 8, 00168 Rome, Italy e-mail: [email protected] larization of the central nervous system, and the meninges. The second part is devoted to functional anatomy, describing the functional systems and the neural pathways of the brain, cerebellum, brain stem, thalamus, and spinal cord in 26 figures and specific commentaries. The book has excellent features: its classic and synthesizing approach to the neuroanatomy and an evident intention to simplify the anatomo- functional anatomy of the central nervous system in order to make it accessible to medical students; the detailed drawings of the coronal and axial views of the neural structures, which are made even more informa- tive by the presence of corresponding neuroradiological images, bear witness to this purpose. The less pos- itive features identified are the often extremely concise text in comparison with the drawings and in the difficul- ty of perceiving and understanding the 3D appearance of the encephalic structures from some of the drawings provided. In conclusion, though it would not be sufficient as the sole source of knowledge in neuroanatomy, this book should be regarded as a practi- cal atlas of the central nervous system comparable in quality as a di- dactic tool to the earlier morphologi- cal atlas, “Encéphale et moelle épinière,” published in 1987, which was obviously the inspiration for it.

Claude Maillot: Encéphale et moelle épinière. Anatomie macroscopique et fonctionelle, 2nd edition

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Page 1: Claude Maillot: Encéphale et moelle épinière. Anatomie macroscopique et fonctionelle, 2nd edition

Published online: 18 December 2002© Springer-Verlag 2002

This aim of this book is to give med-ical students and residents a knowl-edge of the morphology and physiol-ogy of the central nervous system. Itis set at an intermediate level be-tween that of a specialty monographand that of a popular science publi-cation. Accordingly, the format ofthe book features full-page drawingsof the anatomy of brain nuclei andpathways obtained from anatomicalslices of nine adult brains and onespinal cord. In parallel with these,concise text descriptions of the mor-phological and functional anatomyare provided, with few remarks de-voted to correlating the informationconveyed with the correspondingclinical aspects.

The book, which is in Frenchthroughout, focuses on four mainthemes – the external morphology ofthe central nervous system, the arte-rial and venous vascularization, theaxial and coronal encephalic cuts,and the overall description of theprincipal nervous pathways – and issubdivided into two main parts. Thefirst, on macroscopic anatomy, in-cludes 92 illustrations of the brain,the brain stem and spinal cord and anintroduction to the central nervoussystem and its embryology, withcommentaries on the morphology ofthe cerebral lobes, the principal areasof the brain, the cerebellar lobes, thespinal cord, the midline and deep nu-clei regions of the brain, the vascu-

Childs Nerv Syst (2003) 19:264DOI 10.1007/s00381-002-0698-5 B O O K R E V I E W

Concezio Di Rocco Claude Maillot: Encéphale et moelle épinière.Anatomie macroscopique et fonctionelle, 2nd editionSpringer, Paris, 2002. IX, 297 pp, 118 figures (ISBN 2-287-59743-3) EUR 93.79

C. Di Rocco (✉)Istituto di Neurochirurgia,Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore,Largo A. Gemelli, 8, 00168 Rome, Italye-mail: [email protected]

larization of the central nervoussystem, and the meninges.

The second part is devoted to func-tional anatomy, describing the func-tional systems and the neural path-ways of the brain, cerebellum, brainstem, thalamus, and spinal cord in 26 figures and specific commentaries.

The book has excellent features:its classic and synthesizing approachto the neuroanatomy and an evidentintention to simplify the anatomo-functional anatomy of the centralnervous system in order to make itaccessible to medical students; thedetailed drawings of the coronal andaxial views of the neural structures,which are made even more informa-tive by the presence of correspond-ing neuroradiological images, bearwitness to this purpose. The less pos-itive features identified are the oftenextremely concise text in comparisonwith the drawings and in the difficul-ty of perceiving and understandingthe 3D appearance of the encephalicstructures from some of the drawingsprovided.

In conclusion, though it wouldnot be sufficient as the sole source ofknowledge in neuroanatomy, thisbook should be regarded as a practi-cal atlas of the central nervoussystem comparable in quality as a di-dactic tool to the earlier morphologi-cal atlas, “Encéphale et moelleépinière,” published in 1987, whichwas obviously the inspiration for it.